Education & Outreach
Summer Educational Programme
Intensive physics workshops for secondary school students
The IFAE summer programmes are aimed at secondary and upper secondary school students and offer two different workshops designed to explore key areas of contemporary physics in greater depth. One of the workshops focuses on astrophysics through the detection of cosmic rays and work with instrumentation, while the other offers an introduction to particle physics, focused on understanding the concepts and models that describe the fundamental structure of matter. The program also includes stays for undergraduate students and high-school students.
Which workshops are included in the programme?
Cosmic ray detection: astrophysics at your fingertips
Cosmic ray detection: astrophysics at your fingertips is a summer workshop that introduces students to the study of cosmic rays and the experimental techniques used for their detection. Throughout the activity, students work with real detectors, analyse experimental data, and learn how these particles of cosmic origin allow the investigation of high-energy astrophysical phenomena.
The workshop is funded by the Fundació Catalunya La Pedrera, within the framework of its BIYSC programme (Barcelona International Youth Science Challenge), in which IFAE has participated continuously for more than eight years.
Apply here
Key dates
- Registration: from January to April
- Workshop: 2 weeks in July
Rebuilding the Universe piece by piece: from particle physics to cosmology through the periodic table
Rebuilding the Universe piece by piece is a summer workshop that explores the cosmic origin of chemical elements and the relationship between particle physics, astrophysics and cosmology, using the periodic table as a guiding thread. Along this journey, students discover how fundamental physical processes explain the formation of matter and the evolution of the Universe.
The activity lasts one week, is organised in three editions during the month of July, and involves approximately 30 students per edition, in morning sessions. The workshop is part of the Summer courses for secondary school students organised by the Institut de Ciències de l’Educació of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (ICE-UAB).
Apply here
Key dates
- Registration: from March
- Workshop: June and July
Other programs included
- The IFAE Summer Fellowship porgram is a summer educational activity aimed at undergraduate students
- The Joves i Ciencia phase 2 at IFAE is a summer educational activity aimed at high-school students.
For any enquiries, you can contact us by writing to comunicacio@ifae.es .
A first experience in contemporary physics
Both summer workshops offer students a unique opportunity to approach physics beyond the classroom, exploring how scientific knowledge is built in key areas of current research. Through approaches tailored to each topic, the activities help students understand the connection between the fundamental concepts of physics and the major phenomena that explain the Universe and matter.
Designed to inspire scientific vocations
The workshops are aimed at students with an interest in science and seek to foster curiosity, critical thinking and scientific vocations. Contact with researchers, as well as with outreach and research methodologies, allows students to learn about different academic and professional pathways and to discover how physics plays an active role in the scientific and technological development of our society.
- Students participate in the summer camps every year
- +130
- Offering summer educational activities for highschool and undergraduate students
- 10 years
- different opportunities to approach physics beyond the classroom during the summer
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